Chicken Plucker Machine

Here is a Chicken plucker machine that I built to harvest my first batch of chickens. It was based largely on the plucker I found from the friendly pastures website. This design works great, the only problem I had was that it required a little welding, which I wasn’t set up for. I had to search for some parts that would work without welding.

I mostly copied the design, though I did a proper design using CAD software. You can get a copy of the plans with dimensions here.

<screenshot of plans>

Here is the parts list:

feather plate (made myself)

drive wheel ( made myselt )

drive shaft: <amazon link>

drive belt: <amazon link>

shaft coupling with flange: <amazon link>

plucker fingers:

motor: I salvaged one from an old drill press. I think finding a 1/2 to 3/4 hp electric motor on the used market is super easy. If you don’t have one to salvage, check craigslist and you’ll likely see a dozen or so under $50. A new one will cost $150 to $200, this one should work. ( shaft diameter?)

motor pulley:

barrel:

frame:

electrical switch and box

GFI: we are missing water and electricity, don’t use this without a GFI:

wheels:

axles:

The frame is just put together from 2×4’s, plywood and drywall screws.